5 Kick-Ass TV Shows to Start Watching in 2012 (If You’re Not Already)

Every now and then, I’ll watch the occasional episode of “CSI” (usually just the New York version, as that one seems less, well, stupid than the other versions), or bland, by-the-numbers procedurals of that stripe. But there are shows that I actually make time out to watch. The problem is, I seem to be one of the very few people who actually watches these shows, as invariably when I bring them up in conversation, most people have no idea what I’m talking about. There are a couple of reasons for this: 1) a lot of these shows are on paid cable networks like Showtime and Cinemax, and 2) a lot of these shows won’t win mainstream awards, but then again, “Two and a Half Men” has won a hell of a lot of awards, and we all know that is one of greatest crimes against humanity. That’s not to say the shows on this list haven’t won awards, only that that’s definitely not one of our criteria in choosing them. What is, though? The fact that they are all pretty damn kick-ass.